"Lucy" is the world's largest elephant, and the only one in America designated as a National Historic Landmark. She was built in 1881 by James V Lafferty, a real estate developer with a knack for promotion. Standing 6 stories tall, weighing 90 tons, covered with 12,000 square feet of sheet tin, Lucy was more than an object of awe--she was a functioning building, serving first as a real estate office, as a summer home, even briefly as a tavern, until unruly drunks nearly burned her down. She also gave people a reason to come to Margate City, New Jersey, while Lafferty gave his real estate pitch.
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